Jane Campion’s hauntingly beautiful The Piano is one of the rare successful attempts to bring the Gothic sensitivity of the Brontë sisters to the screen.
Holly Hunter is superb as the Scottish widow Ada, a (self-imposed) mute and mother of a strange little girl, who finds herself stranded both physically and emotionally in the wilds of 19th-century New Zealand. Ada’s piano is her means to communicate with herself and with her world.
Anna Paquin is a revelation as the quirky daughter, and Sam Neill offers good support as Ada’s husband, a local man who resents the fact that he is less than he would like to be.
Stuart Dryburgh’s magnificent cinematography and Michael Nyman’s powerful (mostly piano) score help turn The Piano into a feast for the senses and for the spirit.
Best Film
Baraka – Dir.: Ron Fricke
Farewell, My Concubine / Ba wang bie ji – Dir.: Chen Kaige; scr.:
Hedd Wyn – Dir.: Paul Turner; Scr.: Alan Llwyd
Johnny One Hundred Pesos / Johnny Cien Pesos – Dir.: Gustavo Graef Marino; Scr.: Gustavo Graef Marino & Gerardo Cáceres
The Joy Luck Club – Dir.: Wayne Wang; scr.:
The Long Silence / Il lungo silenzio – Dir.: Margarethe von Trotta; Scr.: Felice Laudadio
The Piano – dir. & Scr.: Jane Campion
The Remains of the Day – Dir.: James Ivory; Scr.: Ruth Prawer Jhabvala
The Scent of Green Papaya / L’Odeur de la papaye verte – Dir.: Tran Anh Hung; scr.:
The Wedding Banquet / Hsi yen – Dir.: Ang Lee; scr.:
Best Actor
Jeff Bridges – Fearless
Laurence Fishburne – What’s Love Got to Do with It
Huw Garmon – Hedd Wyn
Anthony Hopkins – The Remains of the Day
Anthony Hopkins – Shadowlands
Tommy Lee Jones – The Fugitive
Kevin Kline – Dave
Colm Meaney – The Snapper
Sam Neill – The Piano
David Thewliss – Naked
Best Actress
Angela Bassett – What’s Love Got to Do with It
Juliette Binoche – Three Colors: Blue / Trois couleurs: Bleu
Amy Chin – The Wedding Banquet
Carla Gravina – The Long Silence
Holly Hunter – The Piano
Gong Li – Farewell, My Concubine
Michelle Pfeiffer – The Age of Innocence
Emma Thompson – The Remains of the Day
Best Supporting Actor
Ewin Bremner – Naked
Carlo Cecchi – La Scorta
Leonardo DiCaprio – What’s Eating Gilbert Grape
James Fox – The Remains of the Day
Charles Grodin – Dave
Ben Kingsley – Schindler’s List
Frank Langella – Dave
Sihung Lung – The Wedding Banquet
Willy Semler – Johnny One Hundred Pesos
Best Supporting Actress
Joan Allen – Searching for Bobby Fischer
Vanessa Bell Calloway – What’s Love Got to Do with It
Katrin Cartlidge – Naked
Tsao Chin – The Joy Luck Club
Ah-Leh Gua – The Wedding Banquet
Jenifer Lewis – What’s Love Got to Do with It
Senta Moira – Fare Dodger / Black Rider / Schwarzfahrer
Anna Paquin – The Piano
Emma Thompson – In the Name of the Father
Alida Valli – The Long Silence
Best Cinematography
The Age of Innocence – Michael Ballhaus
Baraka – Ron Fricke
Hedd Wyn – Ray Orton
In the Name of the Father – Peter Biziou
The Man on the Balcony / Mannen på balkongen – Peter Mokrosinski
The Piano – Stuart Dryburgh
The Remains of the Day – Tony Pierce-Roberts
The Scent of Green Papaya – Benoît Delhomme
Shadowlands – Roger Pratt
Sleepless in Seattle – Sven Nykvist
Three Colors: Blue – Slawomir Idziak
Best Original Score
Baraka – Michael Stearns
Fare Dodger – Michel Seigner
Fearless – Maurice Jarre
In Custody – Zakir Hussain & Ustad Sultan Khan
The Long Silence – Ennio Morricone
Naked – Andrew Dickson
The Piano – Michael Nyman
The Remains of the Day – Richard Robbins
La Scorta – Ennio Morricone
What’s Eating Gilbert Grape – Alan Parker & Björn Isfält